Lenovo unveils IdeaPad consumer laptops

Although its ThinkPad business notebooks enjoy a solid reputation, Lenovo’s mainstream 3000-series laptop offerings have failed to garner much attention from the consumer market. Today, Lenovo is looking to reel in home theater enthusiasts and mainstream PC users with a new line of laptops called the IdeaPads.

The new line consists of a 17-inch IdeaPad Y710 and a 15-inch IdeaPad Y510 priced between $799 and $1,199, plus an 11-inch ultraportable dubbed the IdeaPad U110. Lenovo’s new ultraportable model will be just over half an inch thick, while the 17-inch version has been tailored to accommodate gaming, music and video controls, and comes with the option of a Blu-ray hard drive.

Along with its flashy exterior, all models are based on Intel processors and will feature Dolby sound with four speakers, a “frameless” display that lets the LCD run nearly to the edges of the bezel, an integrated camera and face-recognition software. The announcement came just ahead of the CES to be held in Las Vegas next week, where the laptops will be on display.